MBTA frets over delayed equipment delivery

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) officials remain concerned—as they have throughout 2012—that Hyundai Rotem will lag behind its projected delivery of 75 bilevel cars, worth $190 million, by up to two years.

MBTA ordered the fleet of cars in 2008, and delivery was expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Hyundai Rotem has struggled to catch up with a delivery backlog that also includes 120 single-level cars destined for Philadelphia's Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). SEPTA and Hyundai Rotem official have said they expect that delivery to be completed by year's end.

"We're very concerned that we don't have a production schedule that they can commit to and deliver the product," Jonathan R. Davis, MBTA acting general manager, told the Boston Globe.

Davis reportedly traveled to Seoul, South Korea, this past weekend to be briefed by top Hyundai Rotem officials Monday on the delivery's current status. MBTA hopes the manufacturer will expedite its delivery process to make up for some of the delay.

Hyundai Rotem is producing MBTA's order in Changwon, South Korea, with final assembly occurring in Philadelphia.